Creative Writing #15

After I discovered many of his works in churches, museums, and piazzas across Rome, I became a devoted admirer of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. While many of his sculptures are recognizable because of their distinctly Bernini-esque qualities, they each involve the viewer in a unique way. The Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni, located in San Francesco a Ripa, and the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, in Santa Maria della Vittoria, are two prominent examples of how Bernini portrayed two similar stories that affect the viewer in completely different ways.
The modest church San Francesco a Ripa is an unlikely setting for one of Bernini’s famed sculptures. It is an intensely quiet church, one of the few churches in Rome that is not constantly invaded by an endless parade of tourists. As my eyes adjusted to the dimly lit interior, I saw only a few paintings in the small side chapels. I wandered through the church into a dark chapel that contained the Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni. I was surprised to see that this sculpture by the beloved artist was not prominently displayed, but instead was placed in an unmarked chapel.
When I looked up at the sculpture, my eyes were immediately drawn to the subject’s face, which was illuminated by a gentle yellow light coming from above. Her head was rolled back and her mouth partly open. Her whole face was contorted in an expression that I interpreted to be intense pain, but I was confused when I remembered the name of the sculpture. Her passionate expression was not supposed to convey her pain, but instead Bernini was portraying Ludovica Albertoni’s overwhelming spiritual ecstasy. I studied her face again and I decided that this was unlike any holy scene I had seen in religious paintings and sculptures. I felt slightly uncomfortable looking directly at her face, like I was intruding on an intensely private moment of overwhelming pleasure, spiritual or otherwise. Even the seraphim in the corner of the chapel, that I learned were not part of Bernini’s original design, did not participate in this private scene. In the dark chapel, the yellow light that shined on the sculpture seemed to be part of the art as well. At first glance, I assumed that there was a light that was placed behind the sculpture so that it would appear that rays of sunlight were coming from the heavens above to represent the subject’s overpowering moment of reverence and spiritual ecstasy. A lamp would also serve a more practical purpose in providing a source of light so that viewers could see the sculpture clearly in the dimly lit church. I was told that Bernini deliberately placed a hidden window behind the sculpture so that viewers would see the light shine on the subject’s face. After I left San Francesco a Ripa, I thought about this sculpture in comparison to the other Bernini works I had seen. I preferred this simple and subdued portrayal of a young woman, but it lacked the vivacity and theatricality of many of Bernini’s other masterpieces.
In contrast, the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, in Santa Maria della Vittoria, was an ostentatious and dramatic portrayal of a similar scene, a woman in spiritual ecstasy. The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa was displayed in a bright, stage-like chapel bordered by colored marble. In this church, viewers were invited to admire the sculpture and the architecture that surrounded it. For this sculpture, the light was also a significant part of the viewing experience. However, the light distracted me from the sculpted figures because the light was the most striking part of the sculpture. The gilded rays of sunshine behind the sculpture brightened the natural light from windows in the ceiling into a more brilliant gold color. Nevertheless, when I looked at Saint Theresa’s face, I was reminded of the Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni as I saw the unmistakable expression of pain etched on her face. Once again, I realized that I was mistaken because the sculpture was meant to show her spiritual ecstasy. I was distracted again from the two sculpted figures, Saint Theresa and an angel, by the placement of Saint Theresa in the chapel. She was resting on clouds that floated above the bottom of the chapel, which added to the theatricality of the sculpture. As I left the church, I saw a group of tourists make their way towards the sculpture.
After viewing both the Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni and the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, I realized that a sculpture’s surroundings often influence the art viewing experience. If the two sculptures were switched, the viewer’s experience would have been completely changed. The Ecstasy of Saint Theresa was an elaborate display of Bernini’s artistic skill and his ability to entertain viewers. The colorful marble and gilding around the sculpture enhance its grandiosity. Bernini’s Ecstasy of Beata Ludovica Albertoni is a more mature and humble portrayal of a private moment of spiritual ecstasy that does not attract much attention in the dimly lit San Francesco a Ripa. Both sculptures are valuable works of art that display Bernini’s unique talent of visually presenting a story in motion to admiring viewers.